Simply Fortran Version 3.0 Has Arrived

Posted on Dec. 3, 2018

Approximatrix is happy to announce version 3.0 of Simply Fortran, the first major release since 2013. Version 3.0 brings major feature additions and usability improvements to the integrated development environment on all platforms.

The integrated development environment now supports multiple projects in a single window. The projects can be selected through either the Project Outline, which now features a project selector, or from the Project menu. The project selector in the Project Outline panel also contains an "All Files" option, listing all files known to the development environment from all open projects listed alphabetically.

Along with multiple projects comes support for dependent projects. Project files can now be added to a parent project, and Simply Fortran will now manage building dependent projects prior to building the parent project. For example, if a library is needed for an executable project, the library project can be added to the executable project. Simply Fortran will properly compile the library first, then handle linking the dependent library with the executable.

Initial support for source control integration is now present in Simply Fortran. At this time, Simply Fortran can detect the presence of Git version control (if Git is installed), and the project's version control status will be appropriately marked in the Project Outline panel. Common version control activities, including branch switching, pulling from and pushing to remote repositories, committing changes, and viewing histories, are easily achieved through the integrated development environment. Approximatrix plans to introduce support for Subversion in upcoming releases as well.

Simply Fortran 3.0 visual theming has been overhauled on all platforms. The toolbar icon sets have been standardized across all supported platforms. The Windows version of Simply Fortran features a more consistent theme and improved drawing, which should eliminate much of the flickering present in earlier versions. The left panel on all platforms can now display multiple panels so that, for example, project element search results and the file outline can both be displayed at the same time. The panels can be reordered simply by dragging titles.

The Options (Preferences on macOS) menu has been simplified drastically, and most options have been moved into three windows. The options should now be far easier to navigate than previous versions.

Simply Fortran version 3.0 now ships with GNU Fortran 8.2.0 on Windows and macOS. The GNU/Linux distributions have been simplified greatly in an attempt to eliminate conflicts with other software. Support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS 7 and below has been dropped at this time, but may be reinstated with future versions of RHEL and CentOS. Simply Fortran 3.0 should now run fine on modern Fedora distributions.

Version 3.0 represents nearly a year of focused work, bringing user-requested features to the product. We've tried to fulfill the major feature request our users have brought to our attention, and we will continue to do so in the future. If you encounter any issues with the latest version or have additional suggestions, please contact Approximatrix via email or the forums, and we'll try to address requests as quickly as possible.